Speaker foils lawmaker’s ‘epal’ attempt
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / LEO M. SABANGAN II
MANILA, Philippines—Wary of being branded as “epal” (opportunistic credit grabber), Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he is pushing for no more than a simple resolution expressing Congress’ gratitude to Pope Francis for visiting the country.
“The Pope’s holiness is so high that no congressional award could match it. A resolution of gratitude is more fitting and this is not a form of epal,” Belmonte said.
But Citizen’s Battle Against Corruption Rep. Sherwin Tugna wants to give the Pope a congressional medal of distinction even though he himself admits that this could put the House in a bad light from a public suspicious of the self-promotion of politicians.
“It is possible to do this (Congressional Medal of Distinction). And this will be a welcome development if a resolution will be filed about Pope Francis. However, I foresee that members of the House are thinking twice to do this because they might be branded and misinterpreted as epal and riding on the arrival of the Pope for mileage,” said Tugna.
“Honoring him is not a suited resolution because by the very position itself, the Pope is venerated already. Expressing gratitude is the better content of the resolution,” Tugna added.
But Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez agreed with Belmonte that a simple thank you would do.
“I believe that no congressional award could match the Pope’s holiness. The most fitting is for us in Congress to express our gratitude for his concern to Filipinos and the country,” said Romualdez.
Quezon City Rep. Winston “Winnie” Castelo also supported the filing of a resolution to thank the Pope. “I believe a resolution of gratitude should be passed. The resolution should state how his visit has reaffirmed our exercise of Christian faith and how he has touched our lives,” Castelo said.
Belmonte was among a small group of House members who was present during the Pope’s visit to Malacañang yesterday morning.
Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello said President Aquino should be applauded for his candid remarks during Pope Francis’ visit.
“I think P-Noy must be applauded for saying something that the Pope should have been saying. A lot of the clergy were indeed corrupted by [former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo], and now hate the President for beating them on the family planning issue. Maybe it was his way of telling the Pope that he might be surrounded by wolves in clerical garb,” said Bello in a text message.
Bello also said Pope Francis could have done better.
“He could have been sharper in his criticism of the Philippine elite. His comments on social justice tended to be general. And he totally avoided criticizing the clergy for its conservatism on reproductive health, divorce and the LGBT issues,” said Bello.
